Clair Hayes (Australian Maid) "Female Factory" Cassette 1990

I was given this cassette by a friend and I firstly put it to one side as an item of low priority. I now regret that I did so because this performer and this album certainly deserves far greater attention.

This album has much to commend it. It's a great collection of songs written by the songwriter, singer, instrumentalist, Clair Hayes. The content is both country and folk examining life in the bush often with a pioneer perspective.  The performances are highly competent with excellent instrumental  backing.

Clair is based in the Sydney area and is still a regular performer in both the country and folk arenas.

Clair has advised that "Esmerelda" was the emu that was a long-term resident at Timbertop to the delight of the many visitors.

The Female Factory referred to is the "Parramatta Female Factory" where many early female convicts were housed and employed. Many a pioneer, convict or otherwise, obtained a wife from the factory on mutual arrangement so long as both were approved as being suitable for marriage. It was an interesting arrangement and I recommend that you visit this website page for some very entertaining detail on the process. Many versions of the traditional "The Old Bullock Dray" refer to the possibility of obtaining a wife from the female factory.

To download the album and its graphics
Click here to download from MediaFire

It is about 42Mb. Tracks are MP3 @224 VBR.
You will need to decompress the file to extract the tracks and the graphics using 7-Zip or commercial utilities such as Zip or WinRAR.
If the link does not work then please email mr.stockman@gmail.com or leave a comment on the blog entry.